Advancing Human Development through the Journalism of Kofi Adu Domfeh!

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Friday, January 11, 2013

AquaFish targets women to grow Ghana’s aquaculture

The
Aquaculture and Fisheries Collaborative Research Support Program (AquaFish
CRSP) is
empowering Ghanaian women to consolidate their role in the business of fish
farming.

The
aquaculture industry is dominated by men but Dr. Emmanuel Anokye Frimpong, Lead Investigator
with the program, says women can turn around the fortunes of the sector.

The
Program has therefore reached out to about 80 women in Kumasi and Akosombo with
training in commercial fish farming and retailing.

“We
recognize that women play a very important role in aquaculture; their part of
most of these businesses is either working in partnership with their husbands
as owners of farms, in which case they perform all the business activities of
the farm; or they are at the processing end of the business”, stated Dr.
Anokye Frimpong.

Ghana’s
fishing industry is predominately based on resources from the marine,
freshwater and coastal lagoons.

These
fishing avenues are however losing grounds as viable contributors to the
country’s agricultural growth.

The
agricultural sector in the third quarter of 2012 recorded the highest growth in
the economy but compared to the crops subsector, production in the fisheries
declined by 24.2 percent.

Aquaculture
is fast gaining pace as an alternative source of animal protein to meet the consumption
needs of the Ghanaian population.

There
is a rise in consciousness among farmers, researchers and government on aquaculture
development in Ghana, based on the potentials of the sector to create jobs and
contribute to the nutritional needs of the population.

“Initially
people said fish from ponds are not tasty because people don’t know how to feed
the fist to get the taste… [but] if we’re to enjoy from the ponds and from
cages it can create a lot of jobs for our youth and it’s a very lucrative job
too”, he noted.

Women
participants in the AquaFish training went on a field trip to the Kumah Farms to
experience hands-on activities and to appreciate best practices in aquaculture.

Nana
Siaw exposed the women to the relevance of site selection, fish feeding and
upkeep of farm.

The
women were also tooled with knowledge and skills in maximizing profit from fish
farming and marketing.

“People
should not just see aquaculture as subsistence… people want to sell fish and
make money and we’re sensitizing them about what make a good business”, Dr.
Anokye Frimpong said.

The
five-year AquaFish Collaborative Research Support Program encompassed multiple objectives to
make knowledge in science and technology accessible to fish farmers.

Based
on interim follow-up surveys and impact assessment, Dr. Anokye Frimpong is confident
the program would be extended when it ends in October 2013.

He
also expects Ghana’s Fisheries Directorate to implement its strategic aquaculture
action plans to help improve the sector significantly.

APO Energy Media Awards 2015 - Dubai

K.A.D Profile

Kofi Adu Domfeh is a Development Journalist, Social Entrepreneur & Human Rights Promoter. He works with The Multimedia Group in Ghana as an Assisting News Editor.
He has corresponded for international media organizations for radio and online feature reporting.
His reporting interests are in green economy, agriculture, environment and science - covering assignments in parts of the world.
He was selected among the TwentyTen Dream Team of 18 African Journalists to go to the football World Cup in South Africa to report on Sports & Society.
Domfeh is a Fellow of Africa Means Business (AMB), the Thomson Reuters Foundation and a Mentor under the John Templeton Foundation’s Biosciences for Farming in Africa (B4F4) Fellowship.
Domfeh is the 2015 Winner of the APO Energy Media Awards. In 2014, he emerged Winner of the African Climate Change and Environment Reporting (ACCER) Awards. He was 3rd Best of the same Awards in 2013.
He holds a B.A Degree in Sociology and Social Work, Diploma in Journalism and others in Business and ICT. He has also had training from UNITAR, Thomson Reuters Foundation and WRENmedia UK.
His blog is to upscale development journalism in Africa.